Making a consolidation transaction is as simple as sending your bitcoin back to yourself.
A consolidation transaction is recommended when your vault has built up many deposits (UTXOs). By performing a consolidation, you can reduce your future transaction fees and make it easier for your hardware wallets to sign withdrawals.
Periodic management of UTXOs is necessary when holding the keys to any bitcoin wallet and is something that everyone managing bitcoin keys must occasionally do.
Video Guide:
How to consolidate UTXOs within your vault:
- Sign in to your Unchained account at my.unchained.com.
- Navigate to your vault by clicking Vaults and then the name of your vault.
- Select Deposit to see your next deposit address, and copy it.
- Return to your vault’s main page, and select Withdraw.
- Paste in the address you copied. You will be moving your bitcoin to a new address within the same vault.
- Check the box for Max withdrawal to send your full balance to the new vault address. This will consolidate all of your UTXOs.
- Note the fee that you are being charged for the withdrawal. If the current bitcoin network traffic is high, you may consider performing the withdrawal at a later time to reduce your cost. You can check fee rates at mempool.space.
- If you are satisfied with the current network fee, proceed with the withdrawal by clicking Next.
- Use two keys to sign for the withdrawal andBroadcastit.
- You're done! Once the transaction is confirmed by the bitcoin miners, all of your UTXOs will be consolidated into one.
Note: It may take a few minutes for your hardware wallet to sign—this is normal. Your device's built-in memory is working overtime to remember all of your past deposits!
If your hardware wallet fails to sign the transaction or gives an error, view our troubleshooting guide for help: How can I fix hardware wallet signing issues?
